Today’s passage: Revelation 10
Helpful thoughts:
- In between the sixth and seventh trumpet judgment, other visions are inserted. This happened in a a similar manner in between the sixth and seventh seal in 7:1-17.
- This great angel announces the end of God’s delay in bringing the His promises to fulfilment. When the seventh trumpet sounds, the end will come, God’s promises to the prophets of the Old Testament would be fulfilled.
- John is given this scroll to eat in the same way Ezekiel was instructed in Ezekiel 3:1-3. The picture is of a prophet receiving the Word of God before speaking it (or writing it) for the rest of us to hear and read.
- John’s prophecies are not just concerning Israel or their surrounding region, but “many peoples and nations and languages and kings” (verse 11).
Questions to consider:
- In what ways does this angel appear to represent the One who sent him to bring this message? What are the visual characteristics that link him to the Lord and the throne of God?
- What does the fact that John was not allowed to reveal all he heard require of us? Do we need to know (or get to know) everything that is going to happen with perfect accuracy? In whom must we place our trust? Why can we be confident the end will occur exactly how it should, when it should?
- What could have caused the Word of God to be sweet to the taste but bitter in the stomach of the Apostle John? Why was the truth good to eat? Why might it have made him feel sick? When some avoid the truth because they know it will make them “feel sick” what do they miss out on? Why/How does the truth set us free?